The Ducks signed two players to entry-level contracts Wednesday on the heels of their top minor-league affiliate bringing in a pair of players earlier in the week.
Wingers Yegor Sidorov and Coulson Pitre signed three-year pacts set to kick in next season, right after forward Sam Colangelo (Monday) and defenseman Andrew Lucas (Tuesday) signed professional tryout and amateur tryout contracts, respectively, with the San Diego Gulls.
Sidorov was drafted No. 85 overall in this past entry draft, responding with the first 50-goal season for his junior club, the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades, since the mid-1990s. Sidorov has also displayed a knack for timely scoring, leading the WHL in game-winning goals and finishing tied for third in power-play goals in a league where recent Washington Capitals signing Zac Funk has left little room at the top of its leaderboards.
Sidorov hails from Belarus, about 300 kilometers from Minsk, where he played at the junior level before arriving in North America in 2021. His game has been built around skill and deception, as he can use his deft stickhandling to beat defenders one-on-one or his savvy away from the puck to free himself for one-timers.
Pitre was also a 2023 third-round pick for the Ducks, 20 slots before Sidorov. While his production essentially remained level from his draft year to this season, Pitre has qualities that will make him a strong bottom-six or middle-six forward once he matures physically. Hockey sense, grit, pound-for-pound strength and a high motor have all factored into Pitre’s success to date.
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Colangelo, the Ducks’ second-rounder (36th overall) in 2020, just completed his collegiate career after Western Michigan University’s elimination from the NCAA tournament. He had his strongest campaign as a senior with 43 points in 38 games. He’s a more mature prospect at 22 and already has NHL size (6’2” and 205 pounds) to go with excellent vision as a playmaker.
Lucas played five college seasons between the University of Vermont, where he was a captain for two campaigns, and the University of Connecticut, which lost to top-ranked Ducks prospect Cutter Gauthier’s Boston College squad in the Hockey East tournament. While the undrafted Lucas has a long road ahead of him to the NHL, he provides two things the Ducks were short on this year as a right-handed shooting defenseman who has proven to be extremely durable.
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